A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Cardinal Spellman High School<= span style=3D'font-size:22.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;color:#993300'>

Online Newsletter

Text Only Version

May 2009 Vol. 32 /No. 8

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A Message From…The President

Dear Parents and Friends of Spellman,

May= is Mary’s month – Mary, the mother of Jesus and the mother of all God’s people. During these beautiful springtime days we remember and = we celebrate the life of a woman who loved and hoped, who bel= ieved and served beyond all others. Indeed, there is no better example of living faith than that given u= s by Mary, the model and exemplar for all of us, no matter what our station in l= ife.

How= fitting then, that we also celebrate Mothe= rs’ Day during this month dedicated to Mary. Together, let us ask God that we m= ay always find the strength to honor those whom God has given us as mothers. May we remain faithful to them throughout all our lives until death and for all eternity.

Peace … and Ha= ppy Mothers’ Day to all our Spellman mothers!

Sequere Deum!

Sister Thomasine Knowlton, CSJ

President=

A Message From…The Chairman of the Board

Dear Spellman Community:

On April 4, 2009= the Spellman Community honored the Sisters of St. Joseph for their years of ser= vice to the school and appropriately so. These women prefer to remain priv= ate, some even anonymous. For them, their years of service to Spellman are simply consistent with their calling to their God. Nevertheless, it is imperative that the Spellman world understand that it has been by their hav= ing taken nothing for themselves that a Spellman education has been made availa= ble and affordable for thousands of Spellman students. Indeed, for the past 50 years every single Spellman student has received a significant tuiti= on subsidy solely as a direct consequence of the contributions of the Sister o= f St Joseph. Even today, with very few sisters on the staff, every s= tudent's tuition is still subsidized by approximately 10% (and many students receive much more aid) owing to the Sisters’ service.

Of course, the spiritual contributions of the Sisters remain the very core of SpellmanR= 17;s culture. “God is in the House” is a very popular saying at Spel= lman these days. The keepers of this ‘house’ have been the Sisters of St. Joseph.

We share the sad= ness of an empty convent, together. And we share the joy of the enormity of their work and accomplishment, together. Spellman and the Sisters of St. Joseph a= re irredeemably linked.

The sisters have genuinely fulfilled their mission: they have been “Christ’s hea= ling presence among us.”

For the Board of Trustees,

Barry C. Cosgrove

Chairman<= /b>

A Message From…The Principal

A= s we begin the month of May, we place all of our intentions, hopes and needs in Mary’s hands during this month dedicated to her. We pray especially f= or the members of our senior class, the class of 2009, that God will bless them and continue to nurture them with His gifts. Parents of seniors will be receivi= ng a letter indicating events, times etc. We are very grateful to our senior parents for their support and the= ir commitment to Cardinal Spellman during these past four years and we look forward to celebrating the successes of your sons and daughters.=

And= as always, I encourage you, parents of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and senio= rs, to contact any of us at Spellman when you have questions or concerns. As always, we appreciate any feedb= ack that you can give us.

M= s. Dorothy Lynch

Principal

A Message From…The Assistant Principal

SENIOR USED BOOK SAL= ES

Jun= iors who are interested in buying used books from seniors should make private arrangements. If you are unab= le to do this, seniors who have used books will be available on May 27th at 5:00p= m to sell their books to interested students.&n= bsp;

Var= sity Books will also have a representative available to buy back books from seni= ors who are unable to sell them to juniors.

SENIOR FINAL EXAMS<= /span>

Exa= ms will begin on Thursday May 14^th and continue through Tuesday May 19th.

Sen= iors must be in school at 7:45 for exams unless they have been exempted.

Eac= h day, graduation practice will take place from 10:55am to approximately 12:30pm.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

= Seniors MUST be present for graduation practice each day.

SOPHOMORES – CLASS TRIP – WHALE WATCH

The sophomore class trip will be Friday May 22nd. We will be going on a whale w= atch from Capt. John Boats in Plymouth, MA. Students will be receiving an information packet with final cost and details during the first week in May.=

JUNIOR / SENIOR CLASS ELECTIONS

Cla= ss elections will be held later in the month of May. Students will receive information = in homeroom if they are interested in running for class office.   &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;

Ms. Susan Da= vis

Assistant Principal

Religious Studies and Campus Ministry

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A powerful “Dramatic Presentation of the Paschal Mystery”<= /b> was performed by members of the Liturgy Arts Ministry and other seniors on Thursday, April 16^th for the school community. This Easter program combined eleme= nts of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ interpreted within the context of contemporary culture and issues. It was a very moving experience fo= r all.



= Two welcoming retreats for new ministers for next year wer= e held at the school on the evening of April 16^th from 6:30 to 9:30pm.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Prayer Posse 2009 welcomed members= of Prayer Posse (A) 2010 and Outreach 2009 welcomed members of Outreach 2010.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Activities included prayer, presen= tation of ministry crosses and t-shirts, and refreshments. The other new ministry groups will= hold similar welcoming retreat evenings either in May or in September.

= The monthly meeting of the Parent Prayer Group was held on Tuesday, Ap= ril 28^th at 7:00pm in Room #104.&nb= sp; It was nice to pray together with old members and welcome some new m= embers. The last meeting for the school ye= ar will be held in May. Please c= heck the calendar for the date.

=

Marissa Grenon won second place prize in the Pro-life Oratory contest sponsored by Massachusetts Citizens for Life. Her passionate presentation addres= sed the issue of stem cell research. Congratulations Marissa!

It is with great pleasure that Massachusetts Citizens for Life announces the winners of its 2009 Pro-Life Oratory Scholarship Contest.

First Place was awarded to Joseph Giallombardo from Trivium School In Lancaster. Joseph is a junior, and spoke on embryonic stem cell research.

Second Place was awarded to Marissa Grennon, from Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton. Marissa is a junior a= nd also spoke on embryonic stem cell research.

Third Place was awarded to Anastasia Flaherty from Notre Dame Academy in Hingham. Anastasia is a senior and spoke a= bout the value of the unborn child.

These students all did wonderful jobs of expressing the value of human life at every stage of its development. MCFL is proud to have had the plea= sure of meeting and hearing such wonderful pro-life speakers. We hope that these fine young men = and women will join us on our Young Adult Speakers Bureau. If you would like to have someone = from our speakers bureau speak to your student body please contact us at: MassStudentsfor= Life@masscitizensforlife.org. Thank you. --Priscilla Keough

The last school Mass of the ye= ar will be held on Tuesday, May 5th with F= r. Oscar Pratt as the celebrant. Those students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation this year will be recognized by way of their name being written on a peace dove and displayed= as part of the Holy Spirit banner.

= Baccalaureate Mass is being= held on Monday evening, May 19^th.&nb= sp; The celebrant will be

Fr.= Oscar Pratt.

Guidance

Seniors

We = commend and congratulate the members of the Class of 2009 who are now reaping the rewards of the hard work of both themselves and their teachers over the last four years. So many of our se= niors have been accepted and received scholarships to some of the most prestigiou= s and competitive colleges in the country. Please remember to notify in writing the college of your choice of y= our decision by May 1. Also, as a courtesy, please send a note to those colleges you will not be attending informing them of your decision.

Juniors

On = Tuesday, April 14, at 7:00pm in the Cardinal Spellman High School Auditorium, the Guidance Department hosted “College Information Night”, for the members of the Junior class and their parents.   Thanks to Brian Murphy, Ston= ehill College and Steve Kesman, U MA Dartmouth for all their helpful comments and advice.

The Guidance staff continues to meet with juniors to continue their college exploration on our Naviance Program.

Jun= iors and their parents are also encouraged to visit colleges of interest over the summer. You should call or ch= eck the school’s website for details of tours and information sessions. Juniors were each given a flier in= April with more details about this important activity. Toward the end of May, the counselors will meet with the junior class as a group to explain the teacher recommendation process and handout questionnaires to be filled out and retu= rned before the end of the school year.

Sophomores and Fresh= men

The guidance staff has met with the sophomores and freshmen to discuss their academic progress and their programs of study for next year. Please remember that the counselor= s are available by phone or e-mail if you wish to contact them concerning these matters. Prior to the end of the school year, counselors will go to computer classes to introduce the sophomores to the college search program, Naviance= .

Advancement Happenings

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= Our Legacy Gala & Auction was an overwhelming success with over 400 people in attendance. The highlight of the night of the establishment of the Sisters of St. Joseph Scholarship. Special thanks are extended to everyone who made this spectacu= lar evening happen, especially Elizabeth-Foster Nolan, Committee chair, and Jim Wells, auctioneer.



Golf Classic: June 22, = 2009=

A r= eminder that the annual Cardinal Spellman High School Golf Classic will be held on Monday, June 22^nd at LeBaron Hills Country Club in Lakeville.= The player fees are $160 per person and a foursome for $640.<= /p>
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The= day begins with registration, the driving range and lunch. The shotgun start is 11:30 am and the day ends with the chip-off, dinner and awards. Sponsors are welcome. You can register online at www.spellmanalumni.com/2009GC= or call the Advancement Office at 508 584-3004. Registrations are due by May 15.

Volunteers = are needed to help with the Golf Tournament. Please contact Susan Ashton at 508-504-3004 or email her at sashton@spellman.pvt.k12.ma.us.

Join us for a day o= f sun, fun and competition! Once aga= in, all proceeds from the tournament will benefit Spellman’s athletic programs!=

Drama

Rehea= rsals for our Anniversary Spring Show began on Thursday April 16^th and= are well underway. The shows will take place in June. Stay tuned!

HELP WANTED WITH COSTUMES

All volunteers are welcome! If you don’t sew, help out w= ith ironing, props, etc. Feel free to show up during any rehearsal and lend a h= and.

Our costume director is Mrs. Kathy Sklut.

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Sports

Spr= ing sports at Spellman are underway, and our teams are off to a great start. The varsity softball team has a win/loss record of 4/1 thus far, and our varsity baseball team has a 2/3 win/loss ratio to date.

Our= boys’ track and girls’ track teams each have two wins and no losses at this point, and our tennis team has a 2/2 record. Congratulations to all our athletes for their hard work, and thanks to our fans for their steady suppo= rt.

--M= ike Gerrish

Ath= letic Director

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Parent Connection

The last Parent Connection Meeting for the school year will be held on Wednesda= y, May 6th at 7:00pm. This meeting will include a prayer service led by Deacon Joe Nickley.

As the school year ends, we will begin planning our meetings for next year.= We welcome any suggestions for meeting topics. Please email Laureen with any i= deas that you may have.

Laureen Ballard laballard33@gmail.com
Harriet Young dillis10@aol.com=